alexclaber

Mark, The SR12.3 will be very similar to the Big Baby T, with a different crossover and tweeter. Unfortunately this will make it more expensive and it's going to take some time to get the final details nailed down. For bass guitar and keyboards I'd lean towards the Big Baby T as you'll be able to turn the tweeter up and down to suit and that plus the extra cost of the SR12.3 would swing it for me. The big advantage the Super Twelve T has over the Big Baby is sensitivity - but if you're using two Big Babys I don't think you'll have any problem getting LOUD! Best regards, Alex

[quote name='pandathe3' post='1003203' date='Oct 27 2010, 11:49 PM']Sealed 2x8 enclosure (lined horizontally, so its as small as possible).[/quote] Doing this defeats the point of using 8"s. Use one 12" instead and you'll get better off-axis performance than two horizontal 8"s. [quote name='pandathe3' post='1003203' date='Oct 27 2010, 11:49 PM']The idea of a single 8 sounds good but i need the 2 x 8 to handel the 500watts of power.[/quote] No you don't. The highpass filter massively reduces the power going to the 8". [quote name='pandathe3' post='1003203' date='Oct 27 2010, 11:49 PM']Im quite like the idea of the 12 and 2 8s. You all must understand that this project is specifically being built to be coupled with my schroeder.[/quote] Exactly. So there's little point pairing a sealed cab with a ported cab because of the phase shifts and power handling issues low down - but if the sealed cab isn't doing the bass then that isn't a problem. And then you only need one 8". Ideas are good - but they're not always right first time! [quote name='pandathe3' post='1003203' date='Oct 27 2010, 11:49 PM']I have been thinking about designing a 12 + 2x8 for the floor up. If done properly i think it could sound great! The plan would basically take the crossover and tweeter and place it in the 2x8 cab, leaving the 12 by itself! Porting for both cabinets, id then use fanes, and keep them tuned to get as flat as possible frequency response. SORTED![/quote] If only it was that simple...

[quote name='Dubs' post='1001044' date='Oct 26 2010, 12:52 PM']Ah ok. So would you say that a vertical array is [i]significantly[/i] better than a diagonal array?[/quote] Well I guess a diagonal array could be a good idea if you always play on hillsides facing in the same direction.

If you draw a line between the centres of the drivers, as the response shifts from omni-directional to directional it will shift towards radiating roughly in a cylindrical pattern with the the central axis of the cylinder along that line. So with a horizontal array you get lots of floor and ceiling reflections (bad) and poor output left and right, whilst with a vertical array you get minimal floor and ceiling reflections (good) and strong output left and right. The downside is that you have to make the cab a different shape to what everyone's used to! With a diagonal array you end up with the sideways output on one side going up and on the other side going down.

Hmmm... Very difficult to give impartial advice without it sounding biased! However I shall try. One thing to bear in mind is that although that Hartke cab is rated at 1000W thermally, it's excursion limited power handling is far lower, which has two results - firstly that you can't push the cab anywhere hear as hard as the 'specs' would suggest, and secondly that as you get up to gig levels the tone will diverge from the tone at shop SPL - which I why I continue to say that trying a bass cab in a shop doesn't really tell you much about the performance. I can get a great tone through my hi-fi but I wouldn't want to gig with it! Also a lot of the tone from a bass can come from the amp - some amps have really distinctive tone curves (a combination of frequency response, distortion, dynamic response etc) - so I wouldn't recommend choosing an amp based on it having the knobs you like, I'd go for one that has the tone you like and knobs that do what you need (i.e. twisting them gets the tone you want!)

I agree with what Phil's saying! I'd put the 8"s in a small sealed cab, vertically aligned. If the dimensions of that bother you then lowpass one of the 8"s at about 1500Hz. Actually, re-reading I see that you're referring to a 1x12" cab, in which case you only need one 8" to keep up. Small sealed cab, highpass with a capacitor. Done. LH1000 is overkill to power them - they'll both reach their limits way before it does. If your current cab is a 4 ohm cab then by placing the highpass on the 8" high enough you can still present a suitable load to the amp (as the Schroeder's impedance will increase steadily though the mids and highs).

[quote name='dincz' post='1000547' date='Oct 25 2010, 09:55 PM']And what's the significance of the 450/1800 ratio?[/quote] 6dB - standard AES thermal power handling test crest factor.

Yes! See the chart here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=106090&view=findpost&p=989810"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&sho...st&p=989810[/url] Note that with clean bass guitar you'll struggle to reach 450W continuous without amp clipping with amps of less than 1800W RMS output. With heavily distorted and compressed bass guitar you could hit that 450W level with a clipping 450W amp but that would take some doing! I haven't figured in power compression just as I've ignored peak output, as whilst the one hand taketh the other giveth back.

I keep meaning to add this document to the website but as I'm failing to find the time I'll put it here for now! Note 1 - number in brackets is with L-pad bypassed Note 2 - parallel or series wiring As you can see the Big Series cabs pay a sensitivity penalty in exchange for deeper lows, so you need more power to drive them. However if you have the power then they sound louder on the gig than simple (on-axis) specs would suggest due to their more consistent off-axis response putting more power into the room. Unfortunately if you're short of power they're not very tolerant of it and show up every nasty sound that an amp can make when clipping. More like an F1 car than a (modern) 911 - amazing performance but hard to drive! The Engineered Modular Series of cabs are more like normal bass cabs, just very thoroughly engineered ones high-performance ones.

This covers a fair bit of the differences: [url="http://barefacedbass.com/which-barefaced.htm"]http://barefacedbass.com/which-barefaced.htm[/url]

Mark is the man for grills: [url="http://www.speakergrills.co.uk"]http://www.speakergrills.co.uk[/url]

[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='986396' date='Oct 12 2010, 11:00 PM']Alex - what do you think?? Perhaps this could follow on from the compressor talk...[/quote] Sounds good to me. I think maybe the best way to do this is with a multitracker and some parametric EQ twiddling on a mix - I'll see what I can knock up...

Excellent! A Big Baby T plus Baby Sub seems the answer. Use just the Big Baby T for your smaller gigs, add the Baby Sub when you need more output. I think with some focus on how you play, use your onboard controls, and amp gain/EQ, you could probably do without the DB750 but you'll never exactly replicate the feel of that very fat valvey squishy preamp with the Markbass - just depends on how much that matters to you! Best regards, Alex

Capt. - I believe your Compact was the first to have feet on the side as well as the bottom, and since then they've all been like that - horizontal carry but vertical usage. So I'd expect a cover to be landscape format.

[quote name='pmaraziti' post='984473' date='Oct 11 2010, 02:38 PM']It's ok Alex, truth is that words are indeed meanigless as far as describing sound at least for me. I don't have one sound in my mind, and more often than not I find me liking several players indipendently of what they use![/quote] Yes, words are too woolly when it comes to sound. "Talking about music is liking dancing about architecture" as Zappa or Thelonious Monk or someone like that said. We're up against a bit of a challenge as we're discussing this in your second language - unfortunately my understanding of Spanish is limited to the food I cook, sorry! I too don't have one sound in my mind, which is why I said clips/samples (plural!) Also I would take absolutely no notice of what players are using to get that sound you like - it is all but irrelevant as there are so many variables. But the joy of me getting to hear bass sounds that you'd like to have on your gigs (and they can be quite diverse tones) is that I hear what you like to hear - there are no words to misunderstand and as long as we're both listening through headphones or decent speakers neither of us should end up after the wrong tone. For example, here's what I want a bass cab to be able to do: (And yes, I know they're less than perfect quality but I'm quite good at filtering out the imperfections that the digital encoding has introduced!) [quote name='pmaraziti' post='984473' date='Oct 11 2010, 02:38 PM']So, my inclination towards a 4x10+1x15 solution comes from perceiving that config as an "all terrain" flexible option. I'd like to have a fairly transaparent non coloured sound. At the moment I have a Mark Tube 800 and Aguilar DB750 which are probably not the perfect example of non colouring heads[/quote] Both those heads have pretty transparent power amp stages, so if you like the sound of them DI'd through a good PA, good headphones or good (good is important!) studio monitors then you'll like a fairly transparent cab. Mr Foxen is right on the money with that! [quote name='pmaraziti' post='984518' date='Oct 11 2010, 03:34 PM']My current rig colours signficiantly the sound, that's what I'm trying to change. I don't believe that 4x10+1x10 per se make a different regarding colouring or not, it's more down to the "tuning" of the cabs to my ear. A combination that I've seen and like is a EBS neo 410+115 driven by a clean set EBS head. I also liked the Accougroove (El Whappo?) when I could assist to a concert that featured it (e.g. see Todd Johnson)[/quote] I don't tend to take much notice of what people are using to get a sound because there are too many variables - and I've heard more great sounds because the player is great and despite the rig being less than wonderful, than the other way around! But the rigs/player you mention implies you're after something pretty clean (like that AJ clip?) So when it comes to seeing if there is a Barefaced cab to suit it tends to be a case of me having a listen and working out what tones you're after, then matching up the Barefaced cabs with the bass/strings/amp you're using and sussing out if any of those combinations will suit what you need tonally, and then looking at the rig you're currently using and the gigs you're playing, and then ascertaining you have enough power to drive these tonally suitable Barefaced cabs loud enough. Then there's also the size/weight requirement and also the desire for modularity or not. Part 1 - clips of desired sounds Part 2 - basses and strings Part 3 - amps and current cabs Part 4 - typical gigs and how the current amps/cabs perform at them Part 5 - practicalities Hope that makes sense! Best regards, Alex

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='984244' date='Oct 11 2010, 11:35 AM']You mean that there's a time when you're [i][b]not [/b][/i]irritable?[/quote] When I'm asleep. Unless you wake me up...

Sorry if that sounded a bit grumpy, I have the most annoying manflu (i.e. a proper cold but definitely not real flu!) at the moment - I'm not very good at being ill, I get irritable!

[quote name='pmaraziti' post='984126' date='Oct 11 2010, 10:02 AM']The reason I'd like to go the 4x10+1x15 route is because I "feel" it has all the pitch/definition of the typical 10" (I know you don't like the word "typical" associated to speaker size) that is close to your ears (e.g. when sitting on top of the 1x15) and it still gives me a "feeling" of full bottom end (the 1x15)[/quote] You see this is all pointless words about sound which are so imprecise in reality (because speaker diameter is one of the least significant variables when it comes to tone) that it tells me almost nothing! You want a defined sound that you can hear with good bottom - which could come from any good full-range speaker cab, regardless of what's in it. Show me some clips on YouTube or find some samples on Amazon that showcase the sounds you're after. Tell me what bass you're using and what strings are on it. Tell me exactly what cabs you're currently using, what amp is driving them and what you do and don't like about them in terms of tone and performance. Quit worrying about speakers sizes - find the sound you want, tell me the rest of the gear you're using and I'll tell you if we have something that will fit, or not. Best regards, Alex

[quote name='pmaraziti' post='983882' date='Oct 10 2010, 10:35 PM']...if you had to offer a barefaced replacement setup to somebody fond of the 4x10+1x15 combination... .what would you suggest?[/quote] I would ask specifically why that person is fond of the 4x10"+1x15" set-up - so what about the sound, size, modularity, dispersion, height, they like and what they would change about it if they could. And then I would want to know more about what tone they are after, how loud their gigs are and what amp they're intending to use. The end result could be one of a number of different Barefaced cabs or rigs becoming recommended, or possibly none of them! It's a bit like going back to the arrival of the Austin Seven asking what someone fond of the motorcycle and sidecar set-up would like in a small car - is it the convenience of being able to carry more than on a normal motorbike or is it the low cost vs a big car or is it the speed you can enjoy with a powerful motorbike and sidecar? The 4x10"+1x15" rig certainly used to have a lot of pros, despite the downsides of the polar response and excursion/thermally-limited power handling issues, but as amps have become more and more powerful the downsides have become more obvious (serious excursion-limited power handling issues) whilst the high mid-bass sensitivity and gradual low frequency roll-off and deep response due to the often lower-tuned large 15" enclosure have become less of a bonus.

[quote name='dincz' post='979755' date='Oct 6 2010, 06:56 PM']If you're running two cabs of the same impedance in parallel and one fails, the remaining speaker will continue operating at about the same power level as before. There may be a slight increase in power delivered to it due to the fact that many power amps are not quite able to deliver twice the power when load impedance is halved. The important thing though is that if one cab fails, the load impedance increases and so the amp delivers less power. The remaining cab does not "soak up" the power previously delivered to the failed cab.[/quote] 99% correct! The power it receives will not increase but you will be able to turn the amp up a little louder (i.e. delivering more volts though fewer watts due to the increased impedance) before clipping because the increased impedance will reduce the demands on the power supply.

[quote name='juice' post='977951' date='Oct 5 2010, 07:28 AM']But does anyone know if a 400w 8ohm amp into 500w 8ohm 4x10 cab produces more or less db than a theoretically identical 4ohm rig; i.e. 400w 4ohm amp into 500w 4ohm 4x10 cab?[/quote] If the cabs are identical (bar the impedance) and the amps have identical frequency response, distortion and power output then the output will be identical. However I've yet to come across a loudspeaker where the 4 and 8 ohm versions have absolutely identical performance, let alone getting everything else to match!

[quote name='Conan' post='975721' date='Oct 3 2010, 09:18 AM']So maybe the idea that cabs themselves have a characteristic sound is not unreasonable?[/quote] There's absolutely no doubt that all cabs have a characteristic sound, though some are more distinctive than others. However that sound does not correlate with the cone diameter. Maybe I never bought into the 12" is bassier/slower/mellower than 10", and 15" is bassier/slower/mellower than 12", old wives' tales because my first three rigs were a 1x15" then a 1x12" (occasionally on a bigger 1x15") and then a 2x10" (often with a second 2x10") and the 12" had more bottom than the 15" and the 10"s more bottom than the 12".

I'll be there! Would anyone like me to talk (in an organised fashion) about anything? Alex

Once WoT's done with it (and anyone else in the vicinity) it's coming back to Barefaced HQ and being replaced with a mildly updated one with a steel grill, which will then continue on to the next point on the tour (which seemed to be around Manchester, so miles from Newcastle and thus needing couriering anyway).

Staple suggestion is a good one! Alternatively could it be the internal speaker lead vibrating against the driver? Can you hear anything moving if you pick the cab up and give it a really good shake? Try turning it upside down or on its back and playing and seeing if the noise happens then.